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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Patients and their relatives in need of blood
need not get panic henceforth. They could know the availability of blood just
by tapping their mobile phone. iRelief, a city-based firm has developed an app,
which gives you information about availability of safe blood during your time
of emergency. The government has joined hands with iRelief for this socially
relevant project.

Many patients do not get blood on time during
emergencies. Their relatives virtually run from pillar to post to get the
blood. Lack of a system which provides comprehensive information about the
availability of a blood is the long-felt need of the healthcare system. iRelief
has taken up the responsibility to fill this gap.

iRelief has entered into an understanding with
blood banks in the city to get information on the availability of blood.
iRelief provides you accurate information on the type (group) of blood you can
get from a particular blood bank, through its app. All you have to do is to
download iRelief app from Google play store and install it on your mobile
phone. Apart from giving you information about the blood availability, the app
also allows you to put a demand for a specific type/group of blood, which will
be delivered to you at your place. The app also has a data bank of blood
donors. The moment you place an order for a unit of blood, iRelief alerts the
voluntary donors. The identity and privacy of the donors is guarded while
providing you the service.

Ambulance on
app

Apart from providing information on blood
availability, iRelief app also allows you to book an ambulance quickly and
easily. The app enables shifting the patient in the nick of the time to the
hospital so as to ensure availability of emergency medical treatment and save
the life. iRelief provides you with well-equipped ambulance in the shortest
possible time and ensures the patient reaches the hospital as quickly as
possible. The relatives of the patients can even monitor the movement of the
ambulance on the app.

iRelief also works as a link between
pharmacists and consumers. It contacts the pharmacy on the advice of the doctor
or the consumer. If you are unable to purchase medicines, the app facilitates
door delivery also.

Thus, with iRelief you can avail of medical
services from your house, at the tap of your mobile phone. You can also get access to laboratory tests,
caregivers/nurse service, medical equipment on hire through this app. It
facilitates medical advice over email or phone and reminds you of the time when
the patient has to take medicines. You can leave instructions in your own voice
to the patient on this app with pictures.

With a wide gamut of services that facilitates
access to emergency medical service to patient care, iRelief app will verily be
a boon for patients. It is a multiutility app which ensures timely medical
assistance and comprehensive medical care.

With an investment of
approx.Rs. 100 crore,Manipal Fertility is eyeing an
exponential growth in the next five years in India.ManipalFertility currently has 9 state of the art
centers across 5 states and looks towards expanding its footprint across
multiple geographies in India and abroad. The expansion strategy will include
both brownfield and greenfield modes of growth.The company aims to offer the highest quality assisted
reproductive services while addressing fertilityand conception-related issues in couples as also
looking at Men’s Sexual health as a key focus area.

Speaking
on the occasion of the launch,Lara Duttasaid,“Erratic lifestyles and
stress is increasing the rate of infertility in India. People are slowly coming
forward and accepting the need for assisted reproductive services to conceive.
Such a scenario calls for the expertise and sensitivity of a brand like Manipal
Fertility that understands the needs of distressed couples looking for
state-of-the art treatment under one roof. I sincerely congratulate Manipal
Hospitals and Manipal Fertility for bringing expert medical professionals and
quality treatment closer to those in dire need and hope.”

Commenting
on the launch of Manipal Fertility,Dr. Vasan S.S,Chairman of Manipal Fertility said,“India
has four times as many infertility patients compared to the United States and
male infertility is on the rise reaching almost 50%, largely impacted by
lifestyle changes, high stress levels, lack of physical exercise, and
environmental pollution to name a few. While our objective is to grow in
numbers, our aim is to also reach out to as many people and offer the best-in-class
treatment with a right mix of technology. We have come a long way when we first
began with the concept of Manipal Ankur and with Manipal Fertility we wish to
take our commitment towards our patients a notch higher.”

Treatments
for both female and male infertility is a feature remarkable to Manipal
Fertility. Manipal Fertility has pioneered new treatment options for men with
very poor or zero sperm count and women with repeated pregnancy loss and
multiple failures in assisted reproductive techniques. This is being achieved
by introducing cutting edge technologies in the form of flow cytometric sperm
and DNA analysis, advanced fertilization ability tests, embryo quality
improvement tools like embryoscope and pre-implantation genetic screening(PGS)
and implantation window assessment technologies. Manipal Fertility has also
focused on Men’s health by pro-actively providing solutions for erectile
dysfunction with shockwave and stem cell therapy. Backed by a team of renowned
specialists with track record spanning several decades, the centre has several
success stories to its credit.

Manipal Fertility is at the forefront of
preventive screening and is constantly focusing on developing technologies as a
part of Men’s health to detect cardiac risk (heart attack) early, especially in
diabetic and hypertensive patients. This is the absolute need in India
considering we are the diabetic and hypertensive capital of the world and
Indians being highly prone to sudden cardiac death syndrome.

Dr. (Capt) Sandeep Sharma,
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Manipal Fertility said, “We are
extremely delighted to bring to you the new avatar of Manipal Fertility that
will offer comprehensive services to couples wanting to undergo assisted reproduction.
With the availability of right treatment and latest technology, coupled with a
little patience and compassion, conception is no longer a problem. Our a vision
lies in offering the joy of parenthood to people struggling with infertility,
with key strengths in quality control, patient centricity, quality assurance
and the latest technology.”

Studies
reveal that 10% of the general population suffers from some form of
infertility. Given that India has a population of over 1.2 billion, the
number of Indians suffering from infertility is huge. 46% of the couples who
landed up at infertility clinics belonged to the prime reproductive age group
of 31 to 40. Of them, 49% had already undergone IVF or in vitro fertilization,
a treatment for infertility. The new and enhanced Manipal Fertility comprising
of Embryologists, Andrologists, Gynaecologists, Infertility Experts/Counsellors
that offer innovative and cutting-edge technology and customized and
evidence-based treatments for couples.

VLCC, the leading wellness
and healthcare company had partnered with the leading HR solutions and
technology provider, PeopleStrong, to equip the entire organization with a
dynamic and holistic technology solution for its employees.

While VLCC’s employees’ will get access to India’s first
comprehensive HR mobile APP (Alt Worklife by PeopleStrong) that promises to
help people to simplify their work life, the decision to bring technological
solutions was taken in cognizance of the overall convenience of its agile
employees who are geographically spread in a transparent and systematic manner.

Deployed within in a span of only four weeks using
PeopleStrong Alt’s pre-configured app environment, VLCC is an early adopter in
the wellness and beauty sector to have implemented SaaS HR solutions to harness
360 degree HR information system encompassing, employee leaves, attendance,
business related expenses, performance management and on-boarding, among other
functionalities.

People engagement is core to VLCC’s journey of transformation
and as they become increasingly integrated with the global economy, adoption of
digitization will not only accelerate this journey but will also help VLCC make
their programs more impactful. Direct connect with employees from 39 nationalities,
spread across 13 countries and strengthen the culture of empowerment through
information access ‘on the go’ which will improve productivity while
simultaneously keeping the employees happy and reducing attrition.

Commenting on the implementation,Paramjit Singh Nayyar, Global CHRO,
VLCCsaid “The process of
digitization within the organization will keep employee experience at the core
of the company. This is truly a milestone for us as we are determined to
empower our people and transform the way we experience work. We have chosen
PeopleStrong as an HR technology partner to automate the entire employee life
cycle in the first phase and we would be soon be automating the entire gamut of
HR processes and take employee experience to the next level.”

Kiran Kumar, Chief Sales Officer, PeopleStrong said, “It
is exciting to see HR and HR Tech focus amongst corporates, especially from
non-traditional industries like Wellness and Beauty. VLCC is going to
create an amazing success story of employee experience in the sector and we are
extremely happy to partner with them. HR and the adoption mobile based app is a
growing trend in mature markets like US and Europe, but the India story is
still shaping up. And we are extremely happy to partner with VLCC as we rarely see
focus on HR and invocative HR from non-traditional industries like Wellness and
Beauty.”

New global
R&D and Operations Center is ARRIS’s largest single-site facility outside
of the US, focused on innovating and delivering the industry’s leading
portfolio of broadband and video technology

ARRIS International plchas opened its largest Research and
Development (R&D) and operations center outside of the US – in Ulsoor,
Bengaluru. The state-of-the-art facility hosts a combination of world-class
engineers from two former ARRIS and Pace sites following ARRIS’s January 2016acquisitionof Pace.
The center promotes collaboration and the efficient development of advanced
broadband and video solutions for the next generation of services - including
Gigabit broadband, 4K TV, and Wi-Fi.

“Our world-class Bengaluru facility is at the center of ARRIS’s
global initiative to innovate and scale the technology that will transform how
people around the world watch video and connect to the Internet,” said Bob
Stanzione, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors. “This
center unites two premier groups of engineers and empowers them with the
resources to deliver the next era of innovation for our customers
worldwide.”

Kiran Gadi, Country Head and VP, Engineering, ARRIS India,
added: “The Bengaluru RandD center represents ARRIS’s commitment to the
region, to collaboration across our talented engineering teams, and to our
global customers. Together, we’re positioning ARRIS and its customers for the
next stage of growth.”

Samsung India conducted the 6th annual
edition of Samsung Innovation Awards 2016 at the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. Samsung Innovation Awards aim to
recognize and reward innovations that have the potential to revolutionize
everyday living and enable students to take their ideas to the next level.

The first prize went to the team
comprising Shalaka Kulkarni, Umang Chhaparia and Mustafa Lokhandwala. Their
work was on road quality measurement, monitoring and mapping solution.

Javed Shaikh won the second prize for
proposing new materials to cool electronic equipment. The duo Ritesh Saurabh
and Kumar Pratik won the third prize for designing smart trash cans to expedite
and optimize garbage collection. The top three winners were given away prizes
worth Rs 3.5 lakhs.

Samsung Innovation Awards 2016 saw an
overwhelming response, with five teams getting an opportunity to present their
ideas to the jury comprising. Aloknath De; Debjani Paul and Prof. Swaroop Ganguly,
from IIT-Bombay. The other finalists received merit prizes of INR 40,000.
Samsung R&D Institute - Bangalore will engage with the award winners to
further develop their innovations.

Speaking on the occasion,
Aloknath De, Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D Institute, India -
Bangalore, said, “This platform is to encourage students to
conceptualize and build innovative solutions in emerging topics of artificial
intelligence, convergence, computer vision and sensor-based solutions. It is
heartening to see entrepreneurial and multi-disciplinary approach adopted by
young innovators. This is very much in line with Samsung India's mission to
foster meaningful innovations at every level of research-to-market journey.”

Path-breaking innovations were showcased
at the competition. The innovative product ideas and solutions presented were
across themes including advanced materials, applications of intelligent
solutions in smart spaces/cities and assistive technologies for health.

Prof. Soumyo Mukherji, Dean of Student
Affairs, IIT-Bombay, said, “This
collaboration between Samsung and IIT-B to identify and encourage young
innovators will go a long way towards developing the critically required talent
pool in India, which will be invaluable in years to come.”

The 2016 edition of the Samsung
Innovation Awards was initiated at IIT-Bombay campus three months ago, through
an open entry, where students submitted their innovative ideas. The
shortlisting process was led by professors from IIT-Bombay and the SRI-B team, which
also selected the finalists. The final teams presented their ideas to the jury
at the IIT-Bombay campus. The winning project was selected based on the degree
of innovation, feasibility, usability, relevance and overall impact on masses.

Conceptualised in 2011, the Samsung
Innovation Awards seek to support and encourage young talent who have an
innovative approach and look to improvise different systems and processes.
Further, it aims to develop indigenous products and services for fulfilling
mass needs thereby transforming lives and creating sustainable solutions for
the benefit of the society at large.

Over the years, Samsung Innovation Awards have become
one of the most eagerly awaited ideation contests at IIT’s due to enthusiastic
participation from the student community. Samsung continues to provide the next
generation of Indian innovators and entrepreneurs an avenue to showcase and
advance their engineering skill sets.

Sugar Maths, a
Hyderabad based Startup, announced that it has been adjudged as the Best Technology Startup at the TiE-ISB Connect 2016 held in
Hyderabad. ‘Sugar Maths’ with its
innovative approach of using gamification to make Maths appealing, is an Advanced
Mental Maths Program for students of classes 1 to 10. It covers complete maths
topics across CBSE, ICSE, State Boards and international curricula like
IB/IGCSE. ‘Sugar Maths’ is a platform designed on proprietary Variable Keystone Active Space Technique
(vKast). The "Sugar Maths" Mental Maths Program is based on the
latest research in Neuroscience of learning and Psychology of motivation.

Commenting on receiving the award Neeraj Jewalkar, Founder of Sugar Maths
said, “We are delighted to receive this coveted
award for best use of technology for Sugar Maths. We have developed a
proprietary methodology called Variable
Keystone Active Space Technique (vKast) to improve learning. vKast is the synthesis of the latest
developments in how various regions of the brain function to help learning and
memorization. This technique not only leverages the concepts of Crystallized
and Fluid Intelligence but also incorporates deep insights based on the
psychology of motivation. Sugar Maths aims to make students take more interest
in Maths, develop mastery and have an overall positive approach to this very
important subject not only in academic life but also for personal growth.”

Multi-sensory learning techniques have been
incorporated for strong and lasting memory engrams. This ensures that the
learning is retained for years without loss. Mnemonic techniques for instant memorization have been used as part
of Maths Tricks. This aids quick internalization and recall of important
mathematical concepts that provide a strong foundation for advanced Maths
skills. All these exceptional features have been woven together in an extremely
fun, engaging and addictive game format that has students addicted to this
enriching App. Students are expected to stick to this 10 minute daily routine
for the very best results.

Neeraj Jewalkar is the creator
of vKast Methodology that powers
‘Sugar Maths’. He holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Kharagpur.
He has spent 7 years studying and analyzing the latest research in Neuroscience
of learning and Psychology of Motivation. vKast has been developed based on the
applications of this research on learning outcomes especially for school going
children of classes 1 to 10.

Etihad
Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has extended its digital reach with
the introduction of a new mobile application for Android smartphones, enabling
guests to manage their journeys with even greater ease.

The new mobile appis simple and enjoyable to use,
providing comprehensive trip management and giving guests the information they
need in a way that suits them. Guests can now organise their journeys directly
on the app, which includes booking flights, checking in for flights, securing a
mobile boarding pass, checking flight status, or viewing their Etihad Guest
miles balance. Additional key features include a simple flight search function,
a credit card scanner for payments, a passport scan facility to check in, and
improved flight seat maps.

Justin Warby, Vice
President of Direct Sales for Etihad Airways,said:
“This is a step forward in our innovation strategy to enablea convenient, more personalised digital travel
experience. Our guests are central to how we develop these services,
and their feedback has been important in the creation of this latest app.Technological innovation will be vital in the development of our
industry, and as a leading airline, we want to be able to provide services that
make travel simple for everyone.”

The
airline recently launched an iOS application for iPhones, and partnered with
Abu Dhabi Airports to enable guests to navigate their way around Abu Dhabi
International Airport using indoor maps. This was a first for the Middle East
and there have been over350,000
downloads from the App Store since it launched in April of this year. The app
has also delivered over 25,000 bookings and 130,000 check ins.

Khawla
Ali Albadi, Head of Technology and Innovation at Etihad Airways, said:
“Following on from the success of the iOS app earlier in the year, we’ve been
keen to ensure we’re offering a full range of services to smartphone users. As
part of the ongoing investment in the fleet and the work being delivered
throughout the travel group, we will continue to develop additional digital
products for the benefit of our guests.”

The
mobile app is one of many innovative solutions being developed across Etihad
Airways as part of its Digital Guest Innovation strategy. The technology
strategy is ensuring that Etihad Airways and its equity partner airlines embed
world-class technologies to deliver a range of services and products that
enhance the guest experience.

The new Etihad Airways app
is available now to download via the Google Play Store.Etihad Airways guests will enjoy 10 per cent off flights byusing promo code ‘ANDROID10’ and earn 250 miles, for every booking made
through the mobile app beforeNovember 30, 2016. For full terms and
conditions please visitetihad.com\mobileapp.

Under the Framework
Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Government of
India and the Government of Switzerland, the Department of Science and
Technology (DST), in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC) is seeking joint proposals from universities and research
institutions in India and Switzerland to conduct collaborative research in the
field of glaciology and related areas in the Indian Himalayan Region.

The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) suffers from a knowledge gap
as a result of scarce data, limited research and monitoring networks and poor
documentation. IHR can benefit and contribute to global knowledge and
understanding for a comprehensive scientific consensus on climate change
impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in the world’s mountain regions. The goal
of this Indo-Swiss collaborative research is to enhance institutional and human
capacities on climate science for adaptation to climate change in IHR and
addressing major knowledge gaps in the region.

"The Himalayan ecosystem is extremely rich and diverse
yet fragile. It is highly vulnerable and susceptible to the impacts and
consequences of climate change on account of both natural causes and
anthropogenic emissions at global and local scales. Developing scientific
understanding of such changes and their impacts on Himalayan ecosystem is one
of the major challenges for the Indian scientific community. The Indo-Swiss
collaborative research is envisaged to focus on building human and
institutional S&T capacities in the Indian Himalayan region through
institutional collaboration and scientists to scientists linkages between the
two countries." Akhilesh Gupta, Adviser/Scientist-G and Head
SPLICE and Climate Change Programme, Department of Science and Technology.

DST is implementing the National Mission for Sustaining the
Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) as part of the National Action Plan on Climate
Change (NAPCC). The Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP) is a
project under the Global Programme Climate Change (GPCC) of SDC. IHCAP has been
developed to support and facilitate implementation of NMSHE as a technical and
knowledge partner.

“The overall goal of IHCAP is that the resilience of
vulnerable mountain communities in the Himalayas is strengthened and knowledge
and capacities of research institutions, communities and decision-makers are
connected and enhanced. IHCAP in Phase 2 is proposed as an initiative to
increase knowledge about climate change impacts and response in IHR through
scientific research, capacity building and knowledge exchange and dissemination.” Janine
Kuriger, Director of Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation.

The ongoing changes in the climate are directly impacting
glaciers and snow cover in the Himalayas, and in turn, the hydrology of the
region. Glaciers provide some of the clearest evidence of climate change and
constitute key variables for early-detection strategies in global
climate-related observations.

The Indo-Swiss collaborative research encourages assessments in
areas of glaciology, hydrology and meteorology, their interlinkages, current
and future impacts of climate change and adaptation strategies.Special emphasis is on design of approaches to enhance the
resilience of ecosystem and communities’ livelihoods to changing climate
through appropriate adaptation measures.

For greater uptake of results, the collaborative research is
expected to involve a wide range of relevant stakeholders including government,
civil society organizations and communities during the course of research.

Retail banking globally is
undergoing a thorough shake-up with innovative technologies, from startup to
digitisation, finds the eighth annual study 'Innovation in retail banking'
released on Wednesday by Efma and Infosys Finacle.

According to the report, almost 73% of
banks consider working with innovative startups as the best approach to access
disruptive technologies. "Banks have largely embraced digitisation, and
are aggressively adopting new technologies in order to innovate," states
the report.

It also finds that the proportion of banks
with an innovation strategy has increased from 37% in 2009 to 74% in 2016.
"In addition, banks are now more likely to collaborate with startups in
order to stay competitive, with nearly three quarters seeing them as the best
way to leverage new technologies," the report states.

The study points out that the most disruptive
new technology for banks is advanced analytics and big data, with 79% of them
claiming that it is having a significant impact now, or will have within in the
next two years.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Twitter
India head Rishi Jaitly has quit the company after spending four years at the
popular microblogging website.

He made
the announcement on Twitter itself by writing: “Today, after 4 years of
user/business momentum in India and the region, I’m sharing my intention to
move on to new opportunities, same mission.”

Jaitly,
who played a key role in expanding the company’s operations in India, further
said leading Twitter India and expanding @TwitterMedia across Asia Pacific and
Middle East was “leadership experience of a lifetime”. While
he did not disclose his next destination, he said “a personal/civic calling
takes me to Chicago, I’ll spend significant time in India/Asia, drawing on my
past to further tech’s promise”.The
former Google executive added that he intends to devote himself to “building
bridges in service of my mission”.Jaitly
has also been associated with Knight Foundation and College Summit and was
co-founder and CEO of Michigan Corps.When
contacted, a Twitter India spokesperson said, “We thank Rishi Jaitly for his
contributions, entrepreneurship and leadership over the past four years at
Twitter. He was our first person on the ground to bring Twitter into the
high-growth Indian market”.“There
will be a smooth transition as his last day is in late November after which he
will move back to the US,” the spokesperson added.

Vijaya Bank on Thursday reported 34.05% rise in
its net profit for the September quarter due to higher net interest income and
other income. Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs154.55 crore as compared
Rs115.29 crore a year ago.

Net interest income (NII), or the core income a
bank earns by giving loans, rose 19.5% to Rs827.82 crore in the September
quarter from Rs692.55 crore last year. Other income increased 100.23% to
Rs388.31 crore from Rs193.93 crore in the same period last year.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) at Vijaya
Bank fell 1.5% to Rs6,490.52 crore at the end of the September quarter from
Rs6,589.23 crore in the June quarter. On a year-on-year basis, gross NPAs
jumped 87.6% from Rs3,459.90 crore. As a percentage of total loans, gross NPAs
were 7.07% at the end of the September quarter as compared to 7.31% in the
previous quarter and 3.98% in the year-ago quarter.

Provisions and contingencies rose 45.55% to
Rs389.82 crore in the quarter from Rs267.82 crore a quarter ago. On a
year-on-year basis, provisions jumped 42.5% from Rs273.47 crore. Net NPAs were
at 5.1%in the September quarter compared to 5.42% in the previous
quarter and 2.84% in the same quarter last year.

At 12.30pm, Vijaya Bank was trading at Rs 46.6
on the BSE, up 15% from its previous close, while India’s benchmark Sensex
index fell 0.24% to 27,769.85 points.

Candor
Management Services, a leading provider of human capital transformation
services with over 1200 employees on its rolls, today announced that it has
signed a definitive agreement with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation to setup a
new business incubation centre at the “Namma Metro” Trinity Station, Bangalore
augmenting the Karnataka government's efforts to position Bengaluru as one of
the top startup ecosystems in the world.

Appropriately branded “candorHUB”, the
state-of-the-art incubation ecosystem, will nurture startups in bringing their
innovations to market efficiently; providing them with an array of startup
advisory, business support, co-working space, structured training programs in
addition to extending much needed linkages with industry sponsors, mentors,
investors, and accelerators.

“We will extend full support to Candor in
setting up their new business incubation centre at Trinity metro station, “said
U A Vasanth Rao General Manager Finance (Taxation and Resources), and Chief
Public Relation Officer Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, “Beyond
providing the physical space for this initiative they have an excellent
opportunity to connect with other startup eco-system stakeholders within the government
and its various startup initiatives, “he added.

As a vibrant new business incubation
ecosystem,candorHUB will:

•Invite
startup entrepreneurs to apply for incubation program.

•Shortlist
promising startups and incubate them on a case to case basis

•Identify,
connect and engage a suitable mentor to nurture each startup

•Offer a
state-of-art work environment and other support services, at thecandorHUB centre, for startups
to bring their ideas to life

•Conduct
special events, during the program period, to update startup founders with a
variety of skills necessary to run their outfits. During such events, startups
will also get to meet a variety of successful startup founders, sponsor
customers, investors, and benefit from their valuable advice

•Host a
pitch day event where each startup will present their offerings to an invite
only seed-stage investors, sponsor customers and mentors.

“By spurring creativity and mitigating
avoidable risks in early stage startups business lifecycle, the startup
incubation ecosystem will increase rate of success and time taken to gain
customer traction for new innovations, “said Thirumurugan Subramanian, Managing
Director Candor Management Services and Principal,candorHUB.

“candorHUB’s single point agenda is to
transform societal value to make a significant impact in our society, “said S.
Srikrishna, Director-Finance Candor Management Services and Lead Principal,candorHUB,” We are industry
agnostic and will not reject any startup application for reasons that it
doesn’t fit a pre-conceived vertical. Having said this, initiallycandorHUB will foster
technology centered digitization initiatives across key sectors like
healthcare, education, financial verticals,” he added.

The World Bank will take on
board implementation of the goods and services tax and enactment of the
bankruptcy code while preparing the ease of doing business report next year,
said its country Director Junaid Ahmad.

He also suggested that India has managed
to improve on various sub-rankings although the World Bank's latest report did
not show any improvement in the country's ranking as other nations too have
done their bit.

In the World Bank's latest 'Doing
Business' 2017 report, India's place remained unchanged from last year's
original ranking of 130 among the 190 economies that were assessed on various
parameters.

But the last year's ranking has been
revised to 131 from which the country has improved its place by one spot.

India has expressed its disappointment
over its low rank and has also suggested a review of the ranking methodology.

"Our methodology had led to very
interesting response by different countries... we have learnt that the
complexity of understanding of doing business needs to change. So, our
methodology will evolve as we are doing it right now," he told reporters.

"I do not think we have given India a
low ranking at all. If you look at the sub-rankings, India has managed to
improve quite a bit. Where we are not able to show the aggregate lift-off is
also because the other countries also increased their ranking relatively."

As for India, he said, it is continuing to
do its improvement and "my bet, next year you watch out, it will be
reflected in the rankings".

He added that GST is going to change the
way Indian markets are working now.

Ranked
ninth in 2015, Karnataka has slipped to the 13th position in the 'ease of doing
business' ratings this year.

Union
Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the ranks on
Monday. The Centre's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and
the World Bank jointly award the ratings.

Karnataka
featured among the better-performing states in tax, environment, labour and
inspection reforms.

Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana shared the first position, leading on almost all
parameters, including tax reforms. They got credit for smoother grant of land,
labour and construction permits.

Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat slipped to the third position
from last year's first. In the crucial area of construction permits, Karnataka
lost, despite the authorities saying most approvals were streamlined and made
available online.

Monday, October 31, 2016

By Manu SharmaIndian two-wheeler market has been extremely bullish for the
last few years especially in the motorcyles segment with a displacement of 300cc,
500cc and above. As this segment is expected to double up to 20,000 units by
2020, the American bike major UM Motorcycles is set
to further expand its localization in India by another 15-20% and also plans to
set up another manufacturing and Research and Development centre in the
southern or western parts of Indian.

UM Motorcycles is a joint ventures between
Miami-based UM International and Lohia Auto. The company plans to localize the engines
in India. Presently, the company as part of the Make in India Initiative
localizes about 60 percent of the components from its plant in India. By
localizing the engine and other critical components it plans to up the initiative by another
15-20 percent to 75 or even 80 percent out of India.

The company plans to invest about Rs 50 crore in
including the engine component in its manufacturing plant over the next 12-18 months,
which are currently imported.

Rajeev
Mishra, Managing Director of UM India and Asia, Middle East and Africa
says, “The company will be ramping up production at its Kashipur facility in
Uttarakhand. The current production is around 12,000 units a month,
which will be increased to 50,000 units. Since we sell a large
market for our products in southern and western parts of India, we are
exploring the possibility of setting up another plant and research centre
either in Karnataka or Maharashtra by next year.”

The
company, which had planned to start selling its bikes earlier in August, started dispatching
the models. Its models Renegade Commando and Renegade Sports, both in the
300-cc segment, are priced at about Rs 1.49 lakh and Rs 1.59 lakh, respectively.

About
4,300 bookings, and around 65% of sales volumes is expected from the south and
west markets. "The biggest markets are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu and south alone contributes 35-40% to our volumes," he said.

The company
presently employees about 32 engineers at its research and development centre in New Delhi and another 40 employees at its plant in Kashipur.Mishra
said engine, fuel tanks, ABD are a very critical components of a motorcycle and
if these component is localized than we will up our localization by another
15-20 percent. “Our team is working on development the engine and other
critical parts in India itself.”

All
the critical components for the UM bikes are imported from Thailand, China and
Japan. “We also have plans to develop an ABS and ABD locally for the future bike roll outs,” he concludes.